The Honorable Justice Theis delivered the opinion of the court: Johnson* and Cahill, JJ, concur.

The opinion of the court was delivered by: Theis

JUSTICE THEIS delivered the opinion of the court:

The defendant, Robert Allen, was found guilty of armed robbery and was sentenced to a term of 30 years' imprisonment, to be served consecutively to two sentences previously imposed on the defendant. Allen appeals his conviction and sentence. We affirm his conviction, but find that sentencing was improper and reduce the sentence to 25 years.

FACTS

On April 17, 1990, the defendant and his companions, two unidentified men, entered a jewelry store and approached the owner, Jose Pulida. One of the men pulled out a gun and put it to Pulida's head.

The companions of the man with the gun, including the defendant, went around the counter of the jewelry store and also pulled guns and held them to Pulida's back. They removed Pulida's wallet, containing approximately $500. The three perpetrators handcuffed Pulida and two jewelry store workers together and attached the handcuffs to a pipe. They closed the door to the back room, leaving the victims locked together. The victims were eventually able to break the pipe and run into the street looking for help. They found a police officer, to whom they related the story of the robbery, and they then returned to the store. Upon their return, they noticed that jewelry was missing from the counters and about $1,500 was missing from the cash drawer.

On April 18, 1990, the day after the robbery, Officer Sellars was riding in an unmarked car with his partner, Detective Patrick Brosnan and their supervisor, Sergeant David Welch. They were traveling northbound on Aberdeen when they noticed a late model Oldsmobile turning the corner of 52nd and Aberdeen and proceeding at a high rate of speed. The officers attempted to follow the vehicle and, when they caught up with it, it was parked at the corner of 51st and Aberdeen. They observed that there were three occupants in the vehicle at that time, two men and a woman, who exited the vehicle and went into the liquor store located at that corner. The defendant was one of the occupants of the car.

Detective Brosnan ran the license plate through the computer in the patrol car and discovered that the vehicle was stolen. The officers watched the vehicle until the three occupants had returned and they then blocked the path of the stolen car.

The officers approached the automobile. Officer Sellars removed the driver of the vehicle, Tony Anderson, from the car. Detective Brosnan then talked to the two passengers. The woman was seated in the front passenger seat and Allen was seated in the back of the car, behind the passenger seat. Brosnan bent down and observed that there was a jacket placed over Allen's feet on the floor of the car. The detective reached down and patted the jacket. In the jacket, he felt what he believed to be a gun. The officers then arrested Allen, although the defendant denied ownership of the jacket.

A search of the car also yielded a cosmetic case filled with jewelry. A lineup was subsequently conducted on April 19, 1990. Pulida and the other jewelry store employees all identified the defendant as one of the individuals who had robbed the store.

After a jury trial, the defendant was convicted of armed robbery. He was sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment, to be served consecutively to 55-year and 40-year consecutive sentences previously imposed on him. Allen appeals his conviction and sentence, raising three issues for our review: (1) whether the defendant's motion to quash arrest and suppress evidence was improperly denied; (2) whether the consecutive sentences imposed on the defendant were improper because the record does not adequately reflect a belief by the court that consecutive sentences are necessary for the protection of the public; and (3) whether the defendant's sentence must be reduced to 25 years from 30 years because the aggregate of the consecutive sentences imposed on the defendant exceeds the sum of the maximum extended terms authorized for the two most serious felonies.

ARGUMENT(S)

The first issue raised by the defendant is whether the motion to quash arrest and suppress evidence was improperly denied. This issue has already been addressed and decided in a related appeal. People v. ...

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